Fulton County Ohio Media

On Tuesday, October 21^st, A Town Hall Q & A Event was held at the Birch Meadow Premier Wedding and Event Barn Venue in Swanton where all six Swanton Village Council candidates, Deacon D. Dzierzawski, Stephen Kasprzak, Noah Kreuz, Patrick Messenger, Dave Pilliod, and Patricia Pilliod, responded to a list of five questions.  The event was sponsored by the Swanton Area Chamber of Commerce and moderated by Julia Benfield, owner of Benfield Wines on Main Street in Swanton.

Each candidate was given two minutes for an opening statement, two minutes to respond to each question and one minute for a closing remark.  Stephanie Fessenden kept time and let each candidate know when they had 30 seconds remaining to wrap up their comments.

Question #1 – What specific steps do you plan to take to improve Swanton’s parks and recreation — both in terms of maintaining current spaces and expanding opportunities for families, youth, and community events?

Question #2 – Many neighboring communities rely heavily on grants for infrastructure, parks, and community improvements. How can Swanton better identify and pursue these opportunities, and what areas would you prioritize if additional funding became available?

Question #3 – What changes, if any, do you want to see happen in downtown Swanton? Will there be changes to the DORA area?

Question #4 – What specific incentives or initiatives would you support to make downtown Swanton more appealing to new businesses, and how do you plan to help strengthen and retain the businesses we already have?

Question #5 – Looking ahead five to ten years, what’s your vision for Swanton? What do you see as the single most important step the Village should take to move toward that goal?

Many of the candidates’ solutions to the issues presented in the questions were very similar and could be applied across the board as they involved increasing sources of revenue.  Incumbent Patrick Messenger strongly pushed for more community involvement, input and the communicating to the Council of what residents wanted from the Village Administration.  Council appointee Noah Kreuz for more local business donations for the parks and recreation.  Stephen Kasprzak recommended a park levy to keep those expenditures from coming out of the general fund.  Pat Pilliod advocated for applying for more State and Federal grant money.  Former Councilman Dave Pilliod warned against allowing large tax abatements for new businesses.  Former Councilman Deacon D. Dzierzawski called for a Master Plan to set priorities and where to invest funds.

The entire Town Hall video recording can be found on the Swanton Area Chamber of Commerce Facebook page.  The election is set for Tuesday, November 4, 2025.

Photo (L to R): Patrick Messenger, Noah Kreuz, Stephen Kasprzak, Pat Pilliod, Dave Pilliod, Deacon Dzierawski